– Spoiler Review –
Chaos unfolds in the Corellian underworld as the Unbroken Clan desperately fights to retake its leader from T’onga and her ragtag crew, resulting in Bounty Hunters #22 staying heavy on the action.
With Vukorah in their grasps, but a giant contingent of remaining Unbroken Clan barreling their way, T’onga, Losha, Bossk, Zuckuss, and Tasu Leech scramble to make it to their escape point, where 4-LOM awaits in the ship. It really became clear to me here in Bounty Hunters #22 how much these series feels like the Star Wars version of A-Team, though these bounty hunters would be B-Team (both because they aren’t the marquee hunters and well, I’m sure you get the punny part), from the bickering team of reluctant allies, the unending escapes and action-packed moments, and the obligatory rescue when all seems lost. This is part of why I’ve not always connected with the series, as while I find the genre fun often (and did here for the most part), it’s not my cup of caf. Though the situations that unfolded here in issue #22 were entertaining, Losha pulling a sick move to catch up with the team’s stolen fruit cart escape vehicle, the fact they took such a vehicle to escape, and how the Unbroken Clan blows it up and pushes them to the ledge before 4-LOM’s delayed arrival, all were a blast see unfold. It helps the bickering written by Ethan Sacks is entertaining, if not a little cliché but that’s this genre isn’t it, and it makes the team fun to follow as they deal with each new problem by the Unbroken’s pursuit. Vukorah’s bluster, despite her capture, isn’t surprising and I’ll be curious to see how those threats are followed through on.
This is another chance for the art team’s work to really shine, the kinetic energy of Paolo Villanelli’s art, with Arif Prianto rejoining on colors and Travis Lanham lettering, breathing stakes and life into this B-Team action extravaganza. The escape in the food cart like vehicle had some fun visuals, like Zuckuss throwing its wares at some bike pursuit, and it coming to screeching halt after the Unbroken blast it with a rocket launcher felt painful just looking at the panel. Losha’s impressive move, taking one of the goons with her over the edge and using them as an anchor point for her grappling hook, allowing her to cling onto the cart, was an awesome set of panels that showed the girl definitely shouldn’t be stuck on a farm anymore. The return of 4-LOM in the ship, ready to attack their pursuers in a big full page, was impressive and had that B-Team look and feel of the team coming together in the nick of time, that spot of all the cast together and united again, with Lanham’s giant “HMM” SFX for the ship’s appearance setting the tone and the ‘heroic’ stances of the team, lit by Prianto’s colors for maximum ‘cool’ effect, bringing the full weight of the image to bear on readers and the Unbroken following them. I liked the subtle grin on Vukorah’s face, despite being captured, telling them they’ve doomed Cadeliah and themselves, as it really gives her a lot of power despite the moment.
Ah, now we know what Dengar is up to and I was off, which is fine by me. Turns out Dengar’s goal is to go after Lord Khamdek, the leader of Mourner’s Wail, or at least that’s what it all appears to be about, as he attacks one of their hideouts in the underground of Milvayne. Now that’s a name I was happy to see again, as Milvayne hosted the adventures of Doctor Aphra and the murderbot Triple-Zero during her 2016 series’ arc, “Worst Among Equals,” though it was a much shorter visit this time around. Will Dengar actually try to kill Khamdek? And what would that mean for Cadeliah’s importance for the future of the Corellian underground? While T’onga frets over Cadeliah’s situation, we finally see she’s living rather comfortable in a Crimson Dawn safe house, with Qi’ra even hosting a dinner with her. Cadeliah is no fool and wasn’t trained to be one, so she tries her hand at attackinp Qi’ra, but the Dawn leader has a Knight of Ren by her side, stopping the kid’s attack in its tracks. What’s Qi’ra’s goal with Cadeliah if she has Dengar after one leader and Vukorah leading the other group? Leverage? Over who and why? What does this serve for the Dawn’s bigger plans or is this a personal thing in regards to her history with Corellia? Hopefully we start answering some of those questions.
Bounty Hunters #22 offers more action than almost these pages can contain, blasting us towards even more conflict as things getting even spice-r in the fight for the Corellian underground.
+ B-Team fun
+ Art team shines again
– Might need some answers soon
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
BOUNTY HUNTERS REVIEWS
War of the Bounty Hunters: #12 | #13 | #14 | #15 | #16 | #17 — Galaxy’s Greatest: #18 | #19 | #20 | #21